It’s only been two days since Mayor Adrian Fenty conceded in his bid for re-election, and both inside and outside the District, political reporters and analysts of all stripes are dissecting how a guy with almost $5 million to burn and an enviable set of results to tout could have fared so poorly.

Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) may have been the single most relieved person to show up at Vince Gray’s victory party in the whee hours of Wednesday morning. Not only did the guy he endorsed win the city’s highest office, but Mendelson managed to win a re-election contest — he took in 63 percent of the votes — that was made surprisingly tight because of confusion over his competitor’s name.

Come next Tuesday, Michael D. Brown may well unseat incumbent Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) because many voters think he’s actually Council member Michael A. Brown (I-At-Large). But to fight the impression that he’s simply riding the confusion over a name to office, Brown has put up some campaign signs around town and raised over $23,000 in campaign funds. Well, $15,000 of that was a personal loan from himself to the campaign, but hey, at least he’s going through the motions.

For being one of the unluckiest guys in local politics, Clark Ray comes across as nothing short of hopelessly optimistic and perpetually motivated.

For a while there, it was fun to joke about Michael D. Brown actually winning an At-Large seat on the D.C. Council that he barely campaigned for and raised no money to pursue. Even with his recent victory in a Ward 5 straw poll, most people assumed that voters would eventually realize that he wasn’t Councilmember Michael A. Brown (I-At Large), a well-liked political figure who ran for mayor in 2006.

For your Sunday reading pleasure, we are trying a new idea: Sunday chit-chat with a newsmaker or other interesting personality from the area. In this first installment we talk with Clark Ray.

It’s a question that we’ve all asked: what’s up with Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large)?

Last night’s Ward 4 straw poll and forum was far too lively for words alone, so let’s go to the video footage! The images are a little grainy and the audio leaves much to be desired, but you’re not really going to watch this to learn about the intricacies of school testing or municipal finances. Hit play and just listen for the cheering, jeering, booing, and yelling that accompanied virtually every answer from front-runners Vince Gray and Adrian Fenty.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen A wide range of District political candidates gathered at One Judiciary Square last night to make their case to members of D.C. for Democracy why the organization should support their candidacies in the September Democratic primary. Everyone from the mayor to would-be shadow representatives showed up to make their case. Endorsements should be handed down in the coming weeks. While it’d be impossible to do a full play-by-play account, I’ve…

As residents and city officials grapple with one of the deadliest crimes ever in the District, one local candidate was quick to use Tuesday night’s mass shooting on South Capitol Street as part of his campaign for elected office. Clark Ray, who is challenging Phil Mendelson for an At-Large seat on the D.C. Council, sent out a press release Wednesday reacting to the shooting, and used the opportunity to take Mendelson to task for…